


The Window Is The Door to Your Heart

by Crabbyclaw (strawberrysoap)



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Disabled Character, Gen, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Trans Edward Elric, Trans Winry Rockbell, prince AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-23 16:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14336184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrysoap/pseuds/Crabbyclaw
Summary: Ed scrambled when he heard a noise at the window. Who the hell could that be?! Winry gave a terrified look, and pointed at it,"Ahh! Who's that?!"Ed saw the one and only, Ling Yao. Jesus christ, was he going to keep on doing this or would he have to kick this prince out himself?





	1. Chapter 1

The lush green hills were quiet, calm. Quite the opposite of the lives of the Elric brothers.

It seemed like they never got the chance to sit down and relax nowadays. They were always busy... always busy. Ever since Ed had been enrolled in the military, they were always busy. Mostly Ed though. While he was off in central doing God knows what, Al was stuck at home in Resembool, staying at Winry's house with her Grandmother.

Ed stared at the endless sunset sky, pondering what his next assignment was. He didn't want to go back to central. He wanted to stay here with Al. We don't always get what we want though.

Winry's voice echoed throughout the veridian hills, "Hey! Guys! It's time for dinner!"

Ed rolled over to the direction of Winry’s voice and gave a grunt of acknowledgement. "Okay, we'll be there in a minute!" Al shouted back.

Ed peered up at Al from where he was laying down.

He slowly got up, "Al, do you need any help?"

"Hm, no I think I can handle it."

Ed nodded and began walking towards Winry's house. When he entered the house, a flood of smells enveloped him. Cinnamon, vanilla, all the warm smells you could imagine; it was home. He could see there was an assortment of plates on the table, and one of the most important things on there, apple pie. Usually there wouldn't be such a big dinner for the four of them, but considering this is the first time Ed has come home in... five months, it's a cause for celebration. Ed was usually flooded with work after becoming the Fullmetal Alchemist. After all, he became a state alchemist at the ripe age of 12. Most people were baffled at the thought of this apparently though, because nobody believed him when he first told everyone.

Ed sat down at the table as Winry peered at him from the corner of her eye, almost as if she were half expecting him to take off and disappear again. Ed quickly looked away. He could hardly handle this. He couldn’t believe that he had to deal with slight microaggressions all week. Shouldn’t they be _happy_ he was back?

Just as Ed was going to open his mouth to tell Winry off, Al came into the room.

“Ah, sorry that took so long. Anyway, what are we having, it smells delicious!” Al exclaimed.

“Stew, your guys’ favorite.” Replied Winry cheerfully. “We all know how you feel about stew, Al,”

Winry chuckled as Al ducked his head down in embarrassment.

Pinako chimed in, “It’s about done, so why don’t you kids grab your plates.”

They did as they were told and grabbed them, the ladle from the pot clanking down as each of the kids filled the plates with rich steaming stew.

As they ate, it was almost silent, not one of them wanted to break it. If they talked about the elephant in the room, then the illusion of happiness would be lost. Not that it was ever exactly there for them, but it was nice to at least try their best. Winry was still glancing at him every so often, her stark blue eyes burning into Edward. Al was doing the opposite, Ed could tell he was trying his best to not look at him, although he was failing quite miserably. Pinako, however, didn’t care if Ed saw her looking at him. They made eye contact a few times, which even turned into staring contests. Ed pathetically lost all of them. He was cornered by all these people that he grew up with. The alchemist couldn’t take the tension anymore.

He was the first to speak, “Guys you know I have to leave tomorrow, right? It’s been a nice week off… but I have work I need to do. Someone has to do something about-” he paused when he saw the look on Al’s brown face. “I’m going to come back. I won’t be gone forever.”

Winry stood up, “Easy for you to say! You’ve been gone for five months Ed! Five months! Do you know how hard it’s been on us? How hard it’s been on Al?”

Ed and Al flinched simultaneously. Of course Ed knew how hurt Al was. He thought about it every damn day since he’d been sent to central. He put his brother through so much pain. He blames himself for everything that had happened to them.

“No shit Winry, I know. Why do you think I even left in the first place, it was for Al. Do you think I wanted to leave him alone?!” That was the first time he said it out loud, and to multiple people at once. 

Al looked up at him.

“Why didn’t you take me with you then! I’m perfectly capable of handling myself! God Ed, sometimes you’re so insensitive!”

Ed realized how shitty what he did was, leaving Al by himself. He knew that Al would have gone with him, no doubt.

“Al… you know that’s not why I didn’t let you go with me.”

“Then why? Why would you leave me here.”, Al started to tear up.

“Because this is _my_ fault. Everything that’s happened to us. I’m the one who-” Ed choked up. He closed his sun-colored eyes. “I need to go upstairs.”

Ed left the kitchen and hurried into the room Ed and Al once shared. He climbed into his old bed that smelled of mildew and dust. Everything came flooding towards him, all at once. They had managed to keep it together before Ed left, and the few times Ed came to visit before. But something was different this time. It was like the balloon was being pumped too full of air and was close to blowing up.

Did he really fuck up that badly?

 

An hour had passed when Ed heard the old oak door creak open slowly. Winry’s blonde head edged into the room.

“I think you should talk to Al.” said a soft voice, and without an answer, left.

She was right, not that he even needed to think about that. As much as he hated to admit it, she was usually right.

Ed creeped slowly down the stairs, only to be greeted with a blur of black and white, and a metal limb. Den pounced on Ed and slobbered all over his face. Ed shouted with surprise at the dog’s sudden appearance, but it wasn’t an unwelcome one. He patted Dens head and walked over to Al’s room, waiting for the inevitable conversation that was about to ensue.

Ed saw Al’s golden hair shining from the lamp in the dimly lit room. Ed quietly knocked on the door, Al turning his head up from his desk to look at his brother.

“Come in.” Al murmured quietly.

“Alphonse, I’m sorry about what I did, I should’ve brought you with me. We are brothers after all, we need to stick together. I just felt so guilty about what I did to you I- I could barely live with myself.” Ed could barely contain the tears in his eyes.

“Ed, you know I don’t blame you for me being paralysed. That was a team effort,” Al sighed, “Besides, like I said earlier, I can handle myself.” Al smiled at Ed softly.

Ed perked up slightly, “Well, now I can’t expect to go to central by myself.”

“And I can’t imagine Winry will be too happy seeing the two of us leave now, would she?”

“Eh, she can’t stop us. Besides, if she really wants to go, then she can come with us.”

 

* * *

 

As soon as Winry had gotten word of the two boys leaving, she was furious, throwing wrenches and bolts around the house, akin to a storm made of metal. She only stopped when they said that she could go with them, much to Pinako’s dismay. Winry had quickly packed practically all of her thing’s for the trip to central. She especially made note to bring all of her automail equipment, because who knew when Ed would do something completely stupid and irrational. After she was finished, the three teenagers waved a goodbye to Pinako, who had a solemn look on her face. She knew what these kids would be getting into, but decided not to stop it.

The three headed to the train station, and with one last look at Resembool, boarded the train. The thought of leaving their hometown was heavy, but if it meant the three childhood friends could be together, then it was worth it.

At first the train ride was as uneventful as a train ride could be, the three talking and playing card games as they rode into central.

Just as Ed was finally getting comfortable in his seat, a woman with shining black hair and a turtleneck kept staring at him. He didn’t know what her deal was, because when Ed asked Winry if he had anything on his face, she just gave him a confused look and said no. Ed glared at the woman, but she only grinned back at him. Ed went rigid and looked away. Once he did this, Al noticed the woman too.

“Ed, do you know that woman?” Al whispered. 

“No, I haven’t seen her in my entire life. Looks like people can’t just mind their own damn business”

“Do you think she wants something from us?”

“I think she would’ve gotten up by now.”

Winry looked over at her too now, full force glaring at the black haired woman. In a hushed voice Winry asked, “Do you want me to go get someone?”

Ed laughed, “Please, I think I can handle someone staring at me. Besides, if it comes down to it, I could punch that smug look off her face.”

“Ed, but she’s a girl!” Al tried to reason with Ed.

“Like that matters. Equality for all of us, everyone gets punched in the face.”

Al’s sigh to that response was filled with disappointment while Winry rolled her eyes.

“You don’t need to be making a scene in here. The booths are already cramped enough as it is, if you moved any metal around the train would probably crash.” Winry shuddered at what she said.

“Fine, fine.”  

Even if that lady was creepy as shit, she probably wasn’t going to do anything. If she did then she would be jettisoned out of the moving train via Ed’s metal fist.

Ed sat there uncomfortably for the rest of the train ride.

When the train arrived in Central, the woman was gone; it was like she disappeared from the face of the Earth. That was weird… although nothing about this situation was exactly normal.

They exited the train, with Ed almost running out of there. He sure as hell didn’t want to be stuck in there anymore.

The busy streets of Central greeted them, along with a strong scent of gasoline emitting from the cars. There was buildings of all kinds lining the streets, and people walking in and out of them, minding their own business. Ed can say without a doubt he didn’t miss this. Central only holds negative feelings for him, and the smell of gasoline made him feel sick to his stomach. Trying not to throw up, Ed waited for his brother and Winry.

“Jeez Ed, you didn't have to run out of there!” exclaimed Winry. 

“Sorry, I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Did you see her?”

“No?”

“Well she wasn’t there, she didn’t get off the train.”

Al and Winry were silent.

“Anyway,” Ed continued, “We should be heading to the hotel I’ve been holed up at.”

Ed began walking with Winry and Al following, making idle conversation as they strolled.

Ed had to admit, he was a little worried about how Al and Winry would adjust to life in a bigger city. It sure took Ed some time to get used to it. It’s much more dangerous there than it is in Resembool, not to mention crowded too. But, at least they don’t have to deal with the impending threat of death called Colonel Mustang, like he did.

His mind wandered as they walked. 


	2. The Past is Kind of Like a Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the main portion of this chapter is a flashback, but after this... the Real Story begins.

A bright white light was surrounding Ed, he was floating.

Was he dead? He felt like he should be.

That light, it shone so brightly though… could it really be her?

“Mom! Mom!!”

Ed was screaming for his mother, she was reaching out to him. Her hand… he could almost touch it. He was so close.

“Edward!” his mother called his name.

Just as suddenly as his mother came, she was gone.

Edward’s eyes jolted open, only seeing a blur of faces, none of which he recognized.

A man wearing a blue military uniform and with black hair was in the room, and speaking with Pinako. There were others there too, all of them looked like they were also in the military, matching in blue uniforms. They didn’t look too friendly.

“Oh, I see Elric is awake now.” Every word that man spoke was like nails screeching on a chalkboard.

“Who the hell are you?” Ed groaned, still half asleep.

He was looking at the man from the bed he was laying down in. _W_ _a_ _it a second, why was he in this bed?_

Suddenly, Edward remembered what had happened… _oh god, where’s Al?_

Ed immediately tried to spring out of bed with the thought of his brother, but felt a jolting pain surge throughout his entire body, stopping him from getting up. In an awkward convulsion, he fell out of the bed and took some of the sheets down with him. Ed tried to catch himself on reflex, not quite registering that his arm and leg were missing. Ed’s right arm and left leg were gone, only stumps covered in bandage wrappings were left.

Ed thought about what he had done to himself and Al, and laid there on the floor, not moving.

_They had actually done it. They tried to bring their mother back to life. But this?_

“You need to get out of here. Don’t you see the condition he’s in? He couldn’t join your military even if he wanted to.” Pinako was staring daggers at the man, who had no business being here.

The man looked disappointed, “I see… if you ever change your mind, give me a call.” He turned around, “It’s Roy Mustang, by the way.”

And with that, the man who had black hair - Mustang - left, taking the others with him.

After he left, Pinako rushed to Edward, placing him gently back in the bed. She tried talking to him, but he was unresponsive at this point, all he could think about was what had happened to him and Al. That thing… was it their mother? He remembered its eyes. The way its body contorted in different directions. It was reaching out to him, it wanted help, it was in pain. The way it was moaning… _god_ , it was forever going to be imprinted in his mind.

Hesitating, he asked about the man that came in. “What was that man here for? Was he really in the military…? Why would he want to see me.”

Pinako hesitated for a few seconds, “He wanted to recruit you as a state alchemist.”

Ed was confused, why, after what he just did, would the military want to recruit him? Shouldn’t he be arrested for this? He committed the greatest taboo of alchemy, it just didn’t make any sense.

Winry shuffled into the room, she stood there for a little bit, just staring at Ed. Her entire face was red, and eyes moist.

“Ed don’t even think about what that man was saying.” Winry had clearly been crying for a while.

“Are you okay Ed?” She asked.

He doesn’t think he’s seen her since the incident. Ed couldn’t take his eyes off of her, he made her cry, he was the one who had made her upset. It seemed like he did that a lot.

Ed looked at her, “As okay as I could be right now.”

Winry looked conflicted, but just nodded at his answer. Not that he thought it really mattered how _he_ was, at this point he was more concerned about Al’s well being. He still hasn’t seen him yet,

As if Pinako had read his mind she mentioned Al,

“Edward, your brother’s in the other room. If you want I can take you to see him-”

Ed responded before she could even get the rest of the question out,

“Yes, yes please let me see him.” Edward wasn’t one for pleading, but he needed to know that Al was okay.

Pinako beckoned for Winry, who was standing off to the side. Winry brought over a wheelchair and together they lifted Ed up and sat him down in it. Slowly, Winry rolled it over to the room Al was recovering in. Pinako pushed open the door, revealing Al laying down on a bed, sleeping peacefully. The sheets were covering his legs, and he was wearing what looked like a blue hospital gown.

Al looked pale and clammy, he didn’t look like the lively kid he was only a few hours ago.

“Is he going to wake up soon?” Al almost looked like he was dead, this was all his fault. He hurt his brother, his only brother; the only family he had left.

“We don’t know when he’s going to wake up. He’s going to be okay though. But, Ed,” Pinako looked like she was having trouble getting the right words out, “he’s not going to be able to walk again. When you guys… tried to bring Trisha back, a part of him was taken. He’s paralyzed now.”

Ed could barely believe what she just said. He whipped his head towards her, “What do you mean he won’t walk again? He can’t be paralyzed!” Ed was denying it, he really couldn’t have just ruined his brother’s life, right? She didn’t mean Al wouldn’t be able to run, fight, or- Ed had to make this right for Al.

He decided this now, this was not something he was ever going to take back.

Pinako looked sadly at him, “I’m sorry Ed.”

“And you can’t do anything to help him?” There had to be something. Something to help his little brother.

“Unfortunately… no.”

Ed looked down away from Al. He couldn’t look at him anymore.

Winry spoke up, “There is something we can do for you though, we can equip you with automail. I’ll even make it myself. It'll be the top grade automail I can get my hands on.” She was trying her best to be positive in this situation.

Ed didn’t need any convincing. 

“Yeah, okay. If I’m going to help Al, then I have to be able to move.”

“Ed, you know it’s going to take about 3 years to recover, right?” Winry tried reasoning. 

As if, Ed couldn’t wait 3 years!

“I’ll make it one year.” Winry looked at him like he just slapped her, she looked almost offended that he would try and make it only one year.

“You couldn’t possibly be serious-” he cut her off.

“I am! I’d do anything for Alphonse!” Ed was shouting, she couldn’t possibly expect him to waste time recovering, this time needed to be spent helping Al! His hands were gripping the arm rests on the wheelchair, his knuckles turning pale. Nobody was going to stop him from helping his brother.

“Ed…” Winry looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes, the light was always shining in them,

“Alright! If you say you will, then we should try,” she smiled at him, “I’m going to warn you though, it’s not going to be a fun surgery… and we have to wait a little while until your injuries fully heal, okay?”

Ed nodded, “Alright, fine. In the meantime I’m going to try and find any leads that I can for Al.”

Pinako just shook her head.

~~~~~~

“Winry!! I think I found something.” Ed was practically jumping with excitement, he’d been looking for days, the only breaks he’d take were for the bathroom and to check on Al. Al had woken up a few days earlier, but he spoke only a little, mainly because it took a lot of energy for him to do anything. He was still weak and recovering.

Ed could hear Winry’s footsteps thumping towards his room, and then the door swinging open. Winry looked ecstatic, practically lighting up the room. Winry walked over to his desk and Ed scooted over so she could get a better look at the book.

Winry looked curiously over his shoulder, “What is that?”

The book’s pages were yellowed, it looked pretty old. The page that was open had a sketch of a red stone, along with paragraphs of information covering the rest of the page.

“It’s called the philosopher’s stone, apparently it can create anything.. It completely disregards the law of equivalent exchange.” He looked up at her, this is the most excited he’s been in almost 2 weeks, “We can get Al back to normal!” His golden eyes were bright.

“Are you sure it’ll work though? Where did you find that book anyway..?”

She looked worried, but she definitely had nothing to worry about, he completely knew what he was doing.

“I found it in my- Hoenheims study.”

His father was a deadbeat, he didn’t deserve to be called his father. The only good thing he did for them was leave him all the information he needed for studying alchemy. Which… he guessed wasn’t the best thing in the world considering that he completely fucked up. He wasn’t entirely sure how, but he did. He was so close…

So far, he’s deducted that it was probably some part of the equivalent exchange. But he had all of the physical components, he had the chemical components of an average human body calculated to a T. He made sure of that, he spent hours just making sure it was perfect. Unless it was because of the soul…

“Ed?” Winry broke his train of thought.

“Sorry, - anyway, I’ll go looking for it once I get my arm and leg back.”  Winry hummed and walked out of the room.

He still had a few weeks until that could happen. In the meantime, though, he wouldn’t waste any time.

Later, Ed asked to go to Al’s room. They haven’t really had the time, or energy, to have a real conversation since Al woke up. When he first got in there, Al was asleep still, so he waited. It was a few hours until the boy actually woke up. Al opened his sunny eyes, and he smiled up at his brother.

“Hey Ed.” His voice was hoarse, clearly he hadn’t talked in a long time.

“Hey Al.” They sat in silence for a few moments, knowing what the other was thinking.

“Al… did you see it too?” Ed was kind of scared to ask him, he didn’t just dream that, right? The eye. The truth.

“Yeah, I did.” he stopped for a minute, “Do you know who that was?”

“I have no idea.” All he remembered was a blank slate. A blank face in a plane of white.

“I keep having nightmares about it.” It kept talking about all is one, one is all. It said it was God. It kept spewing complete bullshit.

“Yeah, me too, Al.” Ed sat next to his brother in silence, both basking in each other's company for the rest of the day.

~~~~~

Ed was screaming, he could feel the nerves being sautered to the metal limbs. Fortunately though, it was short lived. While it hurt, it wasn’t anything compared to having his limbs cut off.

Ed gasped for a breath, he could do this, he could handle this. Now, all he had to do was train himself for a year. Then he would join the military. Of course he didn’t tell Winry, Pinako or Al that he was going yet, but he was. Nobody was going to stop him. He needed to help Alphonse.

Winry and Pinako held him down as he squirmed from the pain, when he looked at Winry he could see the sadness in her eyes. She wasn’t enjoying this at all.

He closed his eyes as he let the pain pass.

“I think that’s the last of them.” Pinako patted Ed’s leg, “It’s time for you to rest.”

Ed scoffed, “Yeah, that’s time wasted.” He tried to get up, but failed. The metal was weighing him down.

“Granny, why can’t I get up?”

Pinako looked at him, she looked rather amused at the sight of a struggling Edward.

“You’re going to have to get used to the weight, don’t worry though. With training and _patience_ , you’ll move in no time. Now lay down.” Ed laid his head down and glared at her, not that he had much of a choice anyway.

Ed sat there for about an hour, before he tried lifting is arm once again, this time slowly bringing it up. He could get used to this.

~~~~~

Punch, kick, punch again. Ed kept hitting this stupid ass dummy as hard as he could. Yeah, this helped him build muscle and endurance, but it didn’t even fight back. He wanted a real challenge.

He really needed someone to spar with. But this dumb sack was his only option right now.

Well, he could as Winry. Although he didn’t completely like the idea of punching his childhood friend around.

Speaking of the devil, Winry came outside. She was carrying a tray of drinks and various snacks for Ed.

“Hey, I brought some snacks for you. I figured since you’re working so hard you’d need some calories.”

Ed nodded and proceeded to dig into the snacks, which were mostly just crackers, and a glass of juice.

“Thanks” he thought for a moment, “Hey, did you want to try and train with me?”

She looked surprised that he’d even ask her, “I mean… I haven’t had nearly as much practice as you.” She stopped, looked like she was thinking about it then agreed, “But, it doesn’t hurt if it’ll help you, right?”

“Yeah, obviously, and I won’t go too hard on you. Plus I’ll teach you a few basics while I’m at it.” Ed got into a blocking position.

“Alright, hit me.”

Winry didn’t move, “Wait what?! You want me to hit your metal arm?!”

Ed didn’t even register that his metal arm was in the way, “Wait, damn,” He moved his normal arm to block himself.

“Ok, now hit me,” Winry still didn’t hit him.  

“Ed, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Just, punch me or something.” Winry sighed and threw a halfhearted hook into Ed’s face.

He ducked down quickly, “See, you didn’t even hit m-” Winry threw another punch and hit Ed in the stomach.

Ed fell to the ground, both hands laying flat. A vibrant blue lightning sprung up around him.

“OW- What the hell?!” Winry was laughing, until she saw the light,

“W-What was that?”

Ed shook his head, “I-” He winced, Winry could really throw a punch. He looked down at where his hands were on the ground. The ground had a strange texture on it, it looked like blocks were engraved in the dirt. Did he just transmute something?

Winry stepped back, “Ed,”

He looked up in a daze, “What?”

He didn’t know what was going on. This hasn’t ever happened before. He actually transmuted something without a transmutation circle. He didn't even know something like this was possible.

Ed got up and brushed himself off, he began sprinting towards the house. He had to ask Al about this.

He barged into Al’s room, not waiting to knock and have Al answer, this was urgent.  

“Al!” Al was surprised by the sudden intrusion, but didn’t tell Ed to get out.

“Why are you yelling, Ed?”

“Al, I just transmuted without a transmutation circle.”

Al was bewildered, “What?! No way. Show me.” Ed then proceeded to change one of the pieces of metal on Al’s bed.

“I can’t believe this… Ed, do you think I could do that too?” Al almost looked excited,

“I don’t know, here, try changing it back.”

Al placed his hand over the piece of metal. At first, it seemed like nothing was going to happen. Al tried a few more times, with no avail. About to give up, Al finally sparked something and made the bed frame crudely go back into position.

A smile filled Al’s face, Ed was happy too. This was amazing.

But, of course this bothered Ed. Why now? After practicing alchemy for years, why would they now gain the ability to do this?

Ed tried to transmute the metal on his arm into a blade, and it worked.

Ed and Al were in awe. 

~~~~~~

Ed broke the news to Winry and Al, Pinako already knew for a while. He didn’t really need to tell her, she knew he was going to do it as soon as Mustang came in to see him. He only had a day left until he was leaving, it had already been a year.

To Ed it seemed like a lifetime, he just wanted to go out and help Al, but now the time was coming to get his state alchemist test. He didn’t really know what to expect from it, although he was sure he’d be able to pass it with ease.

Ever since he told Al though, he seemed supportive. Of course Winry was furious. Lately she always seemed angry with him, there wasn’t much he could do about that though. Didn’t she understand he needed to do this?

Laying in his bed, Ed was trying to enjoy his last day in Resembool, his home- no, not anymore. His house still stood where it had been all those years. Ed felt like he was grown up, but then he remembered he was 12.

He felt a pang in his heart, this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. He was still a kid, and he was doing this. But he knew, he knew he had to deal with what he had done and had to use his own two feet to move on; to try and find something better for himself.

He listened to the sound of the birds, feeling the shadows flutter through his room. While he was trying to relax, he heard a thump at his door.

“Ed, can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Al opened the door and let himself in. Over time, he’d gotten stronger, just like Ed did. He looked so much better than he did on that day. His skin was glowing, and his eyes were too. As long as Al was looking healthy, Ed was too.

“So, you’re leaving tomorrow, huh?” He looked sad, “Who’s going to tell you to drink your milk?”

Ed scoffed, milk? As if he was going to miss being forced to drink that shit. “Milk is the least of our worries.”

Alphonse looked sheepish, “Haha, yeah, I guess you’re right.”

He looked at Edward seriously for a moment, “Ed, don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“I’ll try not to,” He couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t. Nobody was going to be there to hold him back…

After their conversation, the two went outside. They sat on the hills, looking out into the sky. For the remainder of the day they talked idly, eventually Winry joined them too. Their quiet conversations and giggling barely touched the quiet fields. The children sat there, trying to make the best of the situation they were in.

~~~~~

The train to Central was a long ride, Ed sat there staring out the window. If he was going to be honest, this was boring as shit. And he was lonely too, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that to himself, or anyone he knew.

He saw the scenery passing by, becoming blurs of green and brown. He couldn’t really tell what anything was, he was too exhausted to care anyway.

Ed began dozing off. The truth. He kept thinking about it every time he fell asleep. Not that he got much of that anymore. He and Al only talked about it briefly, but they at least figured out that something was off about it. They didn’t have enough to go off of to figure it all out though. Ed was sure they would eventually though. He hoped so anyway. 

Time flew by as the train arrived to its destination, his thoughts drifting from one to another.

When he actually got out of the train to Central, he was thoroughly confused about where to go. To say this city was big was an understatement. There were buildings everywhere, and people everywhere. Edward felt incredibly uncomfortable, he was used to the small town he grew up in, not to mention that he was completely alone.

About to move on, he spotted a giant sign with his name on it. He would just ignore it, if it weren’t so obnoxiously obvious that it was definitely for him. He walked over, and was greeted with a woman, and a man with spiked hair and glasses.

“Oh you must be Edward Elric! It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” This man was smiling with all of his teeth. He looked genuinely happy to see Ed.

“I’m Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. This is Lieutenant Hawkeye.” Hughes was shaking his hand with much vigor. 

Hawkeye smiled at him, “Pleasure to finally meet you. Mustang would not stop talking about you.”

God, that guy? From what he remembered, that guy’s voice was awful.

“Funny, I haven’t properly met him yet.” Ed was sure he wasn’t going to like this guy.

Hawkeye and Hughes took him into a car, which looked overly expensive for what it was. He stroked the leather seats he sat in. _Fancy_. The government seemed to have a lot of money if they could just blow their money on cars like this. He snorted quietly to himself.

During the entire ride Hughes kept asking him all these invasive questions. Sure the guy was friendly, but did it hurt to keep those to yourself once and awhile? Hawkeye just sat there, not uncomfortably though. She’d add in a few comments once and awhile.

When they arrived at the government station, the two military officers led Edward to where he was assuming was Mustang’s office. Hawkeye knocked on the door, and waited for an answer.

A muffled voice came from inside the room, “Come in.”

When Ed walked inside, he saw the man who greeted him when he first woke up a year ago.

“Hello Edward. I’ve been anticipating your arrival.” Mustang had what felt like an arrogance in his voice. That was probably why Ed didn’t like him when he first heard it. That and his… authority issue.

“I’ve heard.” Ed glared.

“You have an exam coming up. Now, it isn’t going to be easy. Basically this meeting serves as a debrief. There’s two portions of the test. The written, and then there’s the demonstrative.” He leaned back in his chair. _Hope he doesn't break it_ , thought Ed.

"And you had to bring me all the way to your office to tell me this?" Mustang ignored him. 

“I have confidence you’ll pass with no problems.” Mustang smiled. “Unless I’ve underestimated you.”

Ed scoffed, “No, you didn’t.” Ed stood up a little straighter. What, just because he was younger? As if something like that was going to hold him back.

“If that’s the case, then your test is in a week. I’d use that time wisely.” When he was done speaking, Hughes took him out while Hawkeye stayed behind.

He would pass no problem, he had no doubts. He only had one reason he was doing this.

~~~~~~

Over the week, Hughes had invited him to stay at his home. Although he wouldn’t call it much of an invitation as much as it was him being forced to stay there. He met his pregnant wife, who was very kind, and cooking excellent. He hadn’t had a meal that good since…

The week passed by quickly, Ed spending most of his time studying like Mustang suggested. Arrogant as he was, he had a good point. Although Hughes would occasionally bring him something to eat that his wife cooked. They were very welcoming people. It was something Ed hadn’t expected from people he barely knew.

As expected, Ed passed the test. He might’ve underestimated how hard it was though, because he barely finished the written portion. Where he tested was mostly filled with 30 year old men, which was surprising and unsurprising all at once.

Ed knew he was young for what he was doing, but he at least expected more people in at least their twenties.

The most nerve wracking part was the demonstrative part. Apparently he had to do it in front of the Further. How could he impress the- oh. Wait. Ed almost forgot that transmuting without a circle wasn’t exactly normal.

When he was in front of the Further, he started to poke at Ed. “Oh? This young boy is trying to be a state alchemist?”

This irritated Ed to no end. As if he hadn’t heard the same damn thing every time he told people he was trying to become a state alchemist. Fed up with him, Ed completely transmuted a spear, not wasting any time to point it right at his face. The guards pointed their guns at Ed. But the Further spoke up, “There’s no need for that.”

He smiled at Ed, “Congratulations.”

Ed passed. He did it.

* * *

 

When Ed, Al and Winry finally got to the hotel, Ed collapsed face first on the bed. That train ride was too much. He felt much safer with his face smushed in the covers of his rented out bed. Just when he was getting comfortable in the pit that he created with his face, the phone rang. He only had one conclusion on who this could be. Ed groaned and got up to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

A familiar voice came from the phone, “Hey, Fullmetal, I have a new job for you.”

Ed slapped his hand on his face, “I just got back Mustang. Couldn’t it wait for a few hours?” His hand slowly slid down his face.

“No, of course not.” There was an amused sound in his voice. Bastard.

“Look, I need a favor-”

Ed cut him off, “Oh, so it’s a favor now, huh?” He could hear an irritated sigh come from the other side of the phone.

“Less of a favor and more mandatory then. I need you to watch someone. He’s a Xingenes prince. Ling Yao.” Ed rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t know that being a state alchemist included watching a foreign prince.”

Mustang spoke quietly, “We want to make sure he won’t pull anything. This one doesn’t have a completely clean record.”

So, this was because he was a threat. Okay, guess that makes sense. Although Ed wasn’t completely sure why it had to be him.

“Okay, why me then?”

“You two are around the same age, maybe he’ll trust you more. There aren’t many 15 year olds in the military,” Ed heard something weird in Mustang’s voice when he said that. Huh.

“I don’t have a choice?”

“Correct.” Mustang laughed. Of course.

Hesitating Ed accepted his fate. “Alright. When does this start?”

“Tomorrow, good luck Fullmetal. We’ll send him around noon.”

He agreed and hung up.

Ed turned around. Al was looking at him. “Who was that?”

Ed gave a contemplative look. Should he really involve Al in this? He’d probably be mad if he didn’t tell him. Winry was in the other room, so maybe it’d be okay.

“It was Mustang.” He hesitated,

“Apparently I have to watch a Xingenese prince now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! so im probably going to try and post at least once every 2 weeks, it might be more depending on school and stuff. also i apologize that this is not focused on edling yet, but i promise it will soon! i just needed to set up a few things. anyway, hope you enjoyed regardless!

**Author's Note:**

> oh man... exposition is hard to write, lol. the first few chapters are going to be like that, although hopefully not too long. anyway! hope you guys enjoy


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